Water quality in Cumbria boosts salmon population

Improving water quality in south Cumbria has seen its salmon population increase.

The number of salmon recorded in the region has been the highest since 1994, according to the Environment Agency, indicating that improving conditions in the area's waterways are playing a part in boosting its wildlife, the Westmorland Gazette reports.

South Cumbria Rivers Trust manager Pete Evoy suggested that a larinier fish pass device on Ainsworth's Dam on the River Leven has helped water quality in the county as it re-directs the water and allows more room for the fish to swim.

He said: "The salmonid… really do need clean and well-oxygenated water and clear gravels in which they can spawn.

"There have been great improvements in water quality in recent years, which obviously … helped this species."

A county which could do with improvements made to its rivers is Yorkshire after a number of waterways were given a low rating for their water quality recently, the Yorkshire Post reported.

Posted by Claire Manning